City to review its outdoor water use bylaw

Guelph Mercury

GUELPH — The city will review its outside water use bylaw after this summer’s drought to see how well the legislation is serving the city in low-water periods.

Guelph was put at a level II water conservation mode under the Ontario Low Water Response Plan in July. This rating represents a situation where there are minor water supply problems and the potential for more serious ones. Residents were asked to reduce their outside water consumption by 20 per cent through restrictions on activities such as lawn watering.

Under the provincial water plan, the city is required to place restrictions on water use.

But “how we respond is up to us,” said Wayne Galliher, water conservation project manager for the City of Guelph. “We received a lot of feedback from the public about opportunities for improvement. So we want to have the conversation about where these pieces fall with the community.”

Galliher said examples of areas for improvement in the bylaw include distinguishing between watering gardens that produce food and those that don’t and regulations around car washing.

He also said that enforcement of water use restrictions will be discussed during the consultations. The current bylaw applies to both residents and businesses.

The plan’s level 1 designation means there is a potential water supply problem and requests a 10-per-cent voluntary reduction in water use. To move to level III is a provincial decision. It goes beyond voluntary regulations.

Mike Nagy, chair of Wellington Water Watchers, praised the City of Guelph’s response to water conservation. But he said the wider issue is the provincial policy that doesn’t want to recognize the severity of water threats by classifying them as level III.

“The province is very hesitant to do it. There is a culture of not really calling it as it is,” he said, adding that moving to level II would mean mandatory water restrictions that would impact both individuals and corporations, who he called “the big users.”

“There is an economic influence that is being considered here,” he said.

“If we’re going to have these levels, the municipalities need to be given more autonomy to be able to base their decisions on the actual situation,” Nagy added.

In October, Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller released a report criticizing the Low Water Response Plan for being hesitant to move from level II to level III and its heavy reliance on voluntary regulations.

The city will send out notices about the public consultations on the bylaw review early next year. The review is expected to be completed by the spring.